Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation: Constitutional Conflict in the American Civil War

Abstract

Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation is a meticulous study of Civil War–era constitutionalism, a complex and multifaceted book that will reward multiple readings to understand fully its meaning and implications. Indeed, one wonders if Mark E. Neely Jr. may have done himself a bit of a disservice by affixing Abraham Lincoln's name so prominently to the title, for while Lincoln's thought is central to the book's approach, there is much more here. Neely has written what is perhaps the most important study of its kind to appear in the last twenty years. Neely paints with a wide brush, reflecting his expertise as one of the premiere historians of Civil War–era political and constitutional history. He blends analysis of the familiar—the various constitutional debates surrounding emancipation, wartime civil liberties, presidential war powers, Northern party politics, and debates concerning states' rights in the Confederacy—with extended forays into the lesser known: judicial proceedings stemming from the Union military's enlistment of underage soldiers, Confederate civil liberties debates, the role of southern clergy in the secession process, and the pamphlet wars between pro- and anti-Lincoln politicians and legal theorists.